Chief A/N: Heyo! Hope everyone is enjoying the story… I hope. Anyway, NEW CHAPTER!
Chapter 23: Return to Beacon
The airship ride back to Beacon was long and quiet, everyone having different things on their minds. Victor was kinda in a haze of rage, angry against his teammates for constantly questioning his relationship, but to his face? The big guy could only take so much before he finally let it out on them. The rest of the team felt guilty about it, since it was all of their faults that their mission was a failure. Victor was essentially not speaking with his team, since he said absolutely nothing to them in the hospital other than the obligatory "How are you feeling?" and "Are you okay?".
Other than that, he said nothing to them. Once on the airship, Victor went to the lower levels of the airship with Kris, practically dragging her with him. SNTL was having their own issues, but it was more uncomfortable than anger based. Grey was planning on telling Headmaster Ozpin that Kira was part Grimm and could hear the Insectosaur Hive Mind. Grey knew that it would mean that Kira would probably be taken away and her team would start to fall apart.
Nabuya was currently not speaking to Grey while she consoled Kira, who was currently fall apart herself. Alexi and Nigel sat at the table that was near the large television, the two of them silent as they tried to figure out what to do about their leader.
"Did… did we cross a line?" Alexi questioned as he tapped his fingers against the table.
"Of course we did. You saw Victor's reaction. We don't get to decide. But we shouldn't have been questioning him. Victor is an adult and can make his own decisions, no matter how much we disagree with them." Nigel responded, leaning back in his chair. Yes, it was true that no one agreed with Victor dating Kris, but all of them just had to accept it. Grey sat in one of the chairs, listening to Alexi and Nigel talk. She knew that it was her fault that the fight occurred because she wanted Dev to push Victor into questioning his relationship. So far, she'd basically destroyed two teams.
In the lower levels of the airship, Victor rolled off of Kris, the both of them covered in sweat and out of breath. Kris brought her the back of her hand to her eyes, trying to get her mind back together since Victor was very… passionate with her this round. She could tell that something was wrong since he was rather rough with her. Once her head cleared up, she rolled onto her side and propped her head up on her elbow.
"Hey Vic, are you feeling okay? You were kinda… rough." Kristine questioned, trying to figure out what was wrong with Victor. Victor brought his hands to his face and groaned, dragging his hands up and running his fingers through his hair.
"Was it too much? I'm sorry." Victor apologized as he dropped his arms. He took a deep breath and sighed as Kris cuddled close to him.
"No, it wasn't. You stopped when I said to, so it's okay. I just want to know if everything is okay." Kris questioned as she rested her chin on his chest.
"It's… I don't know." Victor sat up, grabbing Kris and moved her she was straddling him. "Kris, you know I care about you, right?"
"Yeah? Victor what is this about?" Kris questioned as she tilted her head, her ears copying her head movement.
"I just… I snapped today on the guys. It's the reason we got caught by the Insectosaurs. Everyone has just been questioning our relationship and it finally got to me. I blew up on them."
Victor noticed that Kris' ears started to lower to her side and her eyes start to well up in her eyes. He could tell that people questioning them as a couple really got to her. He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close, Kris resting her forehead on Victor's shoulder.
"You… you haven't been questioning us, have you?" Kris questioned, actually worried about it now. Why were people questioning their relationship? What were they saying to Victor to make him angry enough to blow a mission?
"Absolutely not! Kris, I care about you. I don't regret asking you out. Everyone can go to Hell if they don't like our relationship." Victor responded, ensuring Kris that he wanted to be with her. Kris smiled, drying her eyes off as she wrapped her arms around him. Kris sighed in joy that Victor wanted to be with her. It had been so long since she found a man that cared about her… Dev was actually her last boyfriend, and they broke up a while before Beacon. The group arrived to Beacon, ready to report their mission failure.
Victor took the lead and headed to Ozpin's office, wrapping his arm around Kris' waist and pulling her close. Everyone noted how close the two were and felt just a little bit worse since almost all of them had criticized their relationship. Victor stopped the group before the doors to make an announcement.
"Alright, Grey and I will be the ones to talk to Headmaster Ozpin. The rest of you, head back to the dorms and unpack. We'll discuss the mission once our meeting is over." Victor exclaimed, clearly standing as the one in command. No one chose to go against the Wolf Berserker, so they continued into the school, Kris giving Victor a quick kiss before following the group.
"Kira, you're with me." Grey exclaimed as she grabbed Kira's shoulder. "We need to talk to Ozpin. Victor, before you say anything, Kira and I need to talk to Headmaster Ozpin about something." Victor nodded and the trio headed up to Ozpin's office, dreading the news they were going to give him. The elevator ride was awkward, almost completely silent other than the sound of the machines pulling it up. The doors opened, revealing Ozpin staring out his window with his mug in his hand. He turned once the trio left the elevator, taking a seat as they approached his desk.
"Ah, Teams VAND and SNTL. I didn't expect you to return so soon." Ozpin replied, the same calm tone he always had. Victor took a deep breath and delivered the bad news.
"Sir, we failed. We were discovered by the Insectosaurs and they collapsed the tunnel." Victor exclaimed. Ozpin's face remained calm as Victor explained everything that happened during the mission from his side.
"Hmm, very interesting. Ms. Roman? What was your team doing at the time?" Ozpin questioned, gesturing to her with his mug. Grey looked to Victor out of the corner of her eye, then to Kira, who avoided her gaze by looking at her feet.
"Sir, I would rather talk about that with just you and Kira." Grey proclaimed. Victor was still a little confused on why Kira was here, but it seemed important if Grey thought he didn't need to hear it. Ozpin took a sip from his mug before swirling his mug around.
"I see. Well, Victor your description of this new Insectosaur is very interesting. I'll be sure to forward your findings to General Ironwood and the other Headmasters." Ozpin responded, finally gesturing to the door with his mug. Victor nodded as he stood up and headed to the elevator, leaving Kira and Grey with the Headmaster. "So, Ms. Roman, what were you and your team doing during VAND's fight with this new Insectosaur?"
"Sir, we have some news. Kira is… she's able to listen in on the Insectosaur Hive Mind." Grey confessed, preparing for the response. Kira could feel tears start to form in her eyes, but she tried to stay strong.
"Hmm… what an interesting development. Interesting to hear that Kira's Semblance gives her the ability to peer into the mind of the Grimm. I'm sure that it will help her on the road to become a Huntress." Ozpin responded before setting his mug on his desk. Grey was a little surprised while Kira looked up in shock, tears now freely flowing.
"Um, sir… that's not-." Grey tried to correct.
"Ms. Roman, there is very little I don't know about in this school. I am fully aware of Ms. Taseter's… condition. She has easily managed it so far, so I have no reason to inform anyone of this."
Kira had tears pouring down her face as Grey started to tear up herself, both of them overjoyed that Kira would be staying.
"Headmaster… thank you…" Kira cried/ thanked, wiping her eyes on her jacket. Ozpin held up his hand to stop her.
"Do not thank me. I believe that you can overcome your inner darkness and use it to your advantage. With this… new information… I'm sure that your team will be going out on more missions."
"Of course sir. *sniff* We won't let you down."
"Don't worry about that, just make sure that you and your teammates come back. Have a good day."
Kira and Grey nodded, the two of them heading back to the elevator and heading to their room. Kira took a deep breath and was about to say something when Grey threw her arms around Kira and held her in, softly crying into her shoulder. Kira wrapped her arms around her friend, letting her get everything out.
"Kira, I'm so sorry. I'm so happy you're staying…" Grey cried/ apologized. What the hell was wrong with her? She was just about to throw her friend away just because it gave them an advantage over the Grimm.
"It's okay Grey. I know you did it with good intentions." Kira replied, knowing that Grey was just looking out for everyone. Grey remained in Kira's shoulder, letting all of the guilt pour out of her. The elevator ride ended and Grey pulled away, wiping her blue eyes clean of tears. Kira patted her shoulder as they stepped out, heading back to their room to share the good news.
Pyrrha exited the gym, carrying her gym bag over one shoulder and her book bag over the other. She spent most of her time either at the gym or in her study spot going over her notes of the day. Pyrrha sighed as she headed up the stairs to the next floor, ready to get her studying in for the day. She had to admit, studying was kinda boring without her usual study partner. Yes, she was still kinda mad at Victor, but then again, it was his choice on who he dated.
It was just… she still had feelings for Victor, and they weren't going away anytime soon. It still hurt her to see Victor, especially with Kris around his arms. She sighed again as she rounded the corner, but she looked up and saw Victor sitting in their study spot, looking over the textbook they used for their class. She froze, hoping that he didn't see her. Unfortunately, Victor looked up and saw her, a small smile appearing on his face, but it immediately vanished as he looked down.
"Sorry, I'll go if you need me to." Victor apologized as he started packing his bag. It looked like he had been studying for their class, but he looked just as bored as she would have been.
"Its… its fine. I'll just… come back later." Pyrrha responded as she turned around.
"It's okay. I was just about done anyway. Can't figure out some of this stuff." Victor urged as he threw his bag over his shoulder. He started to walk away, passing by Pyrrha but avoiding her gaze. Pyrrha took a deep breath and made a suggestion she was sure to regret.
"Here Victor, I'll help you out with that." Pyrrha suggested as she turned towards Victor. He turned back towards her, Pyrrha seeing that smile that always warmed her heart. The two went to their spot and opened their books, Pyrrha helping Victor with his work like she usually did. As they worked, Pyrrha felt herself start to smile as she looked up at Victor, bathed in the usual orange glow of the sunset. It reminded her of times before he was taken, when she still had a chance.
"Hey Pyrrha, can I ask you something?" Victor questioned as they closed their books.
"Of course." Pyrrha responded as she started putting her stuff away.
"Are we… still friends?"
Pyrrha went silent as she looked out the window since, well, she really didn't know. Everything was so complicated with him now, so she didn't have an answer for him. She decided to tell him the truth, since she didn't know what else to tell him.
"I… I don't know Victor. Everything is just so…" Pyrrha exclaimed, her sentence trailing off as she tried to find the right word. Luckily, Victor was able to find the word for her.
"Complicated?"
"Yeah… I know that you don't know why it is, but-."
"It's because you still have feelings for me."
Pyrrha knew that her hairline was now indistinguishable since she was turning a bright red as her eyes went wide. She spun her head towards Victor with a wide mouth, Victor looking out the window to avoid her gaze.
"Y-you… you knew?" Pyrrha questioned, amazed that he knew. If he knew that she liked him, why the hell didn't he ask her out!?
"Yes, I knew." Victor sighed, admitting to knowing about Pyrrha's feelings towards him. Not like it wasn't obvious since everyone told him constantly.
"And… did you…"
"Yeah, I did."
Pyrrha's mind was in a flurry, trying to wrap her mind around why Victor didn't ask her out.
"So, why didn't you ask me out?" Pyrrha questioned, wanting to know why he didn't ask her out. Victor sighed, since he wasn't sure which version to tell her, why he was with Kris or why he never asked her out.
"Because… I was always so nervous around you and I could never find the words. With Kris, it all flowed so smoothly." Victor answered, choosing to leave a few pieces out. He… didn't really want to tell Pyrrha that the only reason he was dating Kris was because they met while the two of them weren't in their right minds.
"Oh… okay. Well, I wish you luck in your relationship." Pyrrha replied, kinda hurt by the answer. She wondered what she could have done to make herself seem more approachable on the subject.
"Thanks Pyrrha. Don't worry, you'll find someone. You are an amazing woman, Pyrrha. Any man would love to go out with you." Victor assured as he leaned forward, putting a hand on her leg. Pyrrha looked down at the strong hand on her, doing everything in her power not to take that hand into hers. An idea sprung into her head, and she simply went with it without thinking.
"Can I ask you for that favor? You know, the one you said you owe me for helping you study?" Pyrrha questioned, slightly leaning forward.
"Of course."
"Will you… kiss me? Just once."
Victor felt his face turn red, his feelings for Pyrrha starting to bubble to the surface once again. He had done pretty well in pushing them down, since he started dating Kris, but it would constantly fight to come up for some reason. His mind started to stray towards Pyrrha's supple, soft looking lips. He took a deep breath before he finally answered Pyrrha's question.
"Okay, if that's what you want." Victor responded, scooting slightly closer to Pyrrha. Pyrrha did her best to stop from squealing in joy, so she took a deep breath as she closed her eyes and leaned forward. She was eager to feel Victor's lips upon hers, but that eagerness vanished when she felt his lips press against her forehead. Granted, she was still happy with the forehead kiss, but she would have preferred the lips. She smiled since Victor seemed to take his time pulling away, not wanting to end it.
"I'm sorry it's not what you wanted, but it was the best I could do. I'm still dating Kris, and I couldn't do that in good faith." Victor responded as he scooted away from Pyrrha. He stood up and shouldered his bag, patting Pyrrha on the shoulder before leaving. "I'll see you later Pyrrha."
Pyrrha sighed, but she relished the feeling of Victor's lips on her forehead. She looked out at the sunset, the orange slowly starting to darken into black. She was still sad that she couldn't have Victor romantically, but at least she could still be his friend.
Chief A/N: There you have it folks! The next chapter of RWBY: Team Vanguard! Hope you guys are enjoying it.